Italian banks have lambasted Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's plan to hit lenders with €7bn in additional taxes over the next three years, warning that repeatedly squeezing financial institutions for more money ran counter to "economic rationality". Testifying in parliament, Marco Elio Rottigni, director-general of the Italian Banking Association, complained that lenders had already been hit by €15bn in additional taxes in the past two years. He argued this cumulative burden could undermine economic growth and raised "serious doubts about constitutionality and economic rationality". The Meloni government's latest squeeze comes as it tries to cut taxes for voters while keeping the deficit in check before next year's general elections. Rottigni said the capital strength of the banking sector is a resource for the entire economy, requiring enhanced capacity for investment to cope with geopolitical uncertainty.
Italian banks are confronting an unprecedented wave of consolidation, with more than 12 merger attempts over the past two years. This includes a proposal by France's Crédit Agricole to combine its Italian operations and Banco BPM. Rome has also successfully returned Monte dei Paschi di Siena to private hands after its 2017 bailout, with the bank now a target of a hostile takeover by Intesa Sanpaolo. Since Meloni took office in 2022, Italian banks' annual profits have increased more than 86 per cent, rising from €25.5bn in 2022 to a record €47.5bn in 2025. Rottigni called for "a profound rethinking", saying Meloni's three-party coalition must avoid fiscal measures that would curtail resources available to support the broader economy.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing